Definition
In its basic definition bibliographical studies encompasses "the
systematic description and history of books, their authorship,
printing, publication, [and] editions". In establishing the Center the
Chancellor recognized both the growing scholarly interest in the study
of the book both as a physical object and as the key agent in the
growth of learning in the western world after the invention of
printing. If this is the more traditional branch of study supported by
the Center, the new age of the computer and the storage, retrieval and
dissemination of knowledge through electronic means has added an almost
limitless new dimension to that tradition. And now digital, searchable
text-conversion makes the materials themselves equally accessible over
the internet. As they are linked to the online bibliographies the
researcher should be able to move seamlessly from the bibliographic
record, once identified, to the text.

Purpose
Working within these broad and challenging dimensions the Center seeks
to support and encourage intra- and extramural study in its chosen
areas of specialization. On the campus the Center seeks to encourage
and support research and publication by faculty and students in their
chosen fields. Currently the Center can provide expertise and advice
through its professional staff and access to individuals and
organizations nationally and internationally through its many
affiliations in the world of learning. As the Center manages its
programs it brings scholars in bibliographical studies and library
professionals to the campus to share their research with our
colleagues. We have had, for example, a Fulbright exchange librarian
from France. We have trained a number of professionals from the British
Library.

Within the UC system and in Southern California the Center seeks to
promote and coordinate programs related to bibliography, the history of
the book and related subjects. Nationally and internationally the
Center through its professional staff is active both in developing
national bibliographies, parallel to the English STC, in establishing
standards for bibliographical records and in helping libraries to bring
their collections under proper bibliographical control to serve the
scholar. The Senior Bibliographer in our Early English Serials
Project served on a national committee to produce a set of printed
cataloging rules and regularly gave workshops in North America and
Britain on cataloging early printed serials.

Goals
The Center is already an internationally recognized contributor to the
field of bibliographical studies through its current programs. The English Short-Title Catalog, is a
landmark, cooperative bibliographic endeavor that has become the model
for creating access to the products of the hand-press in the western
world. Over the years we have continued to innovate in the collection
and processing of data. We currently have dozens of
libraries in North America, Britain, Ireland and Germany,
working directly in our file under our supervision. During 2005-7 it worked with a consortium of
libraries in the Consortium of University Research
Libraries in the British Isles to add on line a record of all their
pre-1701 British imprints, estimated at more than 40,000
copies. The California
Newspaper Project is managing a major preservation program,
filming thousands of volumes of deteriorating newspapers to preserve
their contents for the use of future generations. Moreover,
it
has worked actively to secure the major commercial newspaper film
archives in the State itself, and now has custody of more than 80,000
one hundred foot reels. The Latin American Project will create a
union catalog that will both provide access to scarce material
scattered over four continents, while enabling the libraries
themselves, strapped by limited resources and staff, to create online
access to key portions of their collections.

Organization
The Center is located in Highlander Hall, adjacent to the campus. The
offices of the ESTC, the CNP and CCILA (now the Latin American project)
are housed together as one unit. The Center is administered by a
director appointed by the Chancellor upon the recommendation of the
Dean of the College of Humanities and Social Sciences after
consultation with a faculty search committee. An associate director,
recruited to the faculty, and two full-time assistant directors
comprise the leadership. The Director is advised on the ESTC by a
national advisory board and by an Anglo-American committee. For the
California Newspaper Project he works in close coordination with the
State Librarian and her staff, the California Newspaper
Publishers Association, and librarians at the university, county
and city level throughout the State. For CCILA he works with ABINIA, the Association of Directors
of National Librarians in Latin America, and SALALM,
Seminar on the Acquisition of Latin American Library Materials.

Funding
The post of the Director, the Associate Director, the Assistant
Director for the ESTC and the Administrative Assistant of the Center
are funded by the College of Humanities and Social Sciences. The ESTC
and CNP are funded primarily by the National Endowment for the
Humanities. Additional support has been provided by the Department of Education
and a number of private
foundations. We are in the process of creating an endowment to
ensure the long-range viability of the ESTC. It currently stands in
excess of $1,200,000.